Shoe sole comprising a footbed

ABSTRACT

A shoe sole with a footbed ( 5 ) is described which forms a flexible foot support. In order to provide advantageous constructive conditions it is proposed that the foot support consists of a flat structure ( 4 ) receiving tensile forces which is held in a freely suspended manner in a frame ( 1 ) defining the edge contour of the footbed ( 5 ).

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a shoe sole comprising a footbed which forms a flexible foot support.

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

The footbed of shoe soles is provided to support the foot by avoiding local pressure spots. It is known for this purpose to arrange the footbed with a foot support which is adapted to an average anatomical shape of the foot and which is provided in a sufficiently elastically flexible way in order to compensate any deviations in the individual shape of the foot of the user of the shoe from the average shape of the foot. A further adjustment of the foot support of a footbed to an individual shape of the foot will be achieved when the foot support consists of a cushion which is provided at least partly with a gel-like filling because the footbed will rest under even pressure on the foot in the region of the cushion. It is disadvantageous however that such a footbed substantially loses the support of the foot for compensating any malpositioning of the foot. The same applies to air cushions provided in the region of the foot support of the footbed which are especially used for damping impact loads.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is therefore based on the object of providing a footbed for a shoe sole which advantageously allows the adaptation of the foot support to an individual anatomical shape of the foot without having to omit a respective support of the foot.

Based on a shoe sole with a footbed of the kind as mentioned above, this object is achieved by the invention such a way that the foot support consists of a flat structure receiving tensile forces which is held in a freely suspended manner in a frame defining the edge contour of the footbed.

Since as a result of this measure the foot support of the footbed does not rest in a conventional manner on a resilient pressure cushion, the disadvantages in connection with such a pressure cushion support—either as a result of a cushion filled with a pressure medium or as a result of elastic padding—can be avoided in a simple way. With the free suspension of the flat structure in a frame which results in the foot support, any loading of the foot support leads to a tensile stress on the flat structure clamped at the edge, which needs to absorb the respective tensile forces for this purpose. The flexibility of the flat structure allows an adjustment to the individual shape of the foot of a user of the shoe, with a preliminary shape of the flat structure which causes the necessary support of the foot and is suspended by said frame being ensured by the spatial progression of the frame in the connecting region with the flat structure of the foot support according to the progression of the footbed at the edge side.

As a result of the free suspension of the flat structure, the foot support in accordance with the invention provides an advantageous precondition for good venting of the footbed from below when the flat structure of the foot support is provided with a respectively air-permeable configuration, e.g. as a result of breakthroughs or pores. The relevant aspect is that the free suspension is not interrupted by any local support, as a result of which the free adaptability of the foot support to an individual shape of the foot will be obstructed. For this reason it is recommended to hold the flat structure of the foot support in a freely suspended manner in the frame with distance above a walking sole. The walking sole can be a part of the frame, but this is not mandatory. It is also irrelevant for the functionality of the footbed whether a continuous walking sole is provided or whether the walking sole is merely limited to the frame region or only partly covers the frame.

The flat structure of the foot support which is freely suspended by the frame can be provided with different configurations because it is especially intended to enable the adaptation to the individual shape of the foot by sufficient flexibility of the flat structure and to remove the tensile stresses originating in the flat structure from the frame which are caused by the weight load of a user of the shoe. Cuts made from leather, foils or textiles can be used for example. Especially advantageous constructive conditions are achieved however when the foot support consists of a textile flat structure, especially a knitted fabric, because knitted fabrics are not only air-permeable, but also provide resilience which in the range of larger tensile stresses is advantageous for the adjustment of the foot support to an individual shape of the foot without impairing the removal of tension on the frame. Moreover, knitwear and knitted fabrics can be produced in sections with different strength and deformation properties in one or several layers, providing an additional influence on the supporting and adaptation effect of the foot support.

The connection of the flat structure forming the foot support with the frame can be provided in constructively different ways. It only needs to be ensured that the tensile stresses occurring in the flat structure are removed securely to the frame. Especially simple constructive conditions are obtained in this connection when the flat structure of the foot support is clamped between two frame parts because in this case the same slackening conditions for the flat structure are provided along the frame.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The subject matter of the invention is shown in the drawings by way of example, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a shoe sole in accordance with the invention in a partly sectional schematic top view, and

FIG. 2 shows this shoe sole in a sectional view along the line II-II of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The illustrated shoe sole forms a frame 1 which is composed of a bottom frame part 2 and an upper frame part 3. A flat structure 4 as a foot support of a footbed 5 is clamped between said frame parts 2, 3, with latching pins 6 which engage into latching recesses of the upper frame part 3 facilitating the positioning of the two frame parts 2, 3.

The flat structure 4, which is preferably knitwear or a knitted fabric, is freely suspended within the frame 1 and is provided with its unloaded shape as a result of the spatial progression of the abutting surface between the two frame parts 2, 3. The edge of the spatial flat structure 4 which is clamped between the frame parts 2, 3 therefore determines the preliminary shape of the footbed 5, which will adjust to the individual shape of the foot under load as a result of the flexibility of the flat structure 4, wherein such adjustment can be supported by different strength properties or different extension properties of the flat structure 4 in sections. For this purpose, the flat structure could be arranged at least in sections with several layers and/or could be composed of materials with different mechanical properties.

Since the flat structure 4 is freely suspended in the frame 1 and does not rest within the frame on a part of the sole, especially good venting conditions are obtained for the footbed 5 because air from the region beneath the foot support is provided with direct access to the upper side of the foot support in the case of a respective air permeability of the flat structure 4. This means that when providing a walking sole 7, which is indicated in FIG. 2 with the dashed line, the flat structure 4 is held in a suspended manner at a distance above the walking sole 7. A continuous walking sole 7 is not required for the functioning of the footbed 5 in accordance with the invention.

It is understood that the invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment. As a result, the fixing of the flat structure to the frame 1 in particular can be performed without any clamping between two frame parts 2, 3 by gluing, sewing, screwing or in any other manner since it is only relevant that the flat structure 4 is held in a freely suspended manner in a frame 1 determining the edge contour of the footbed 5. 

1. A shoe sole comprising a footbed (5) which forms a flexible foot support, wherein the foot support consists of a flat structure (4) receiving tensile forces which is held in a freely suspended manner in a frame (1) defining the edge contour of the footbed (5).
 2. A shoe sole according to claim 1, wherein the flat structure (4) of the foot support is held in a freely suspended manner in the frame (1) at a distance above a walking sole (7).
 3. A shoe sole according to claim 1, wherein the foot support consists of a textile flat structure (4), preferably a knitted fabric.
 4. A shoe sole according to claim 1, in that wherein the flat structure (4) of the foot support is clamped between two frame parts (2, 3).
 5. A shoe sole according to claim 1, wherein the flat structure (4) has locally difference strength properties. 